Windows Phone 8 Apollo builds

WP7Forum.ru posted a list of Windows Phone 8 build numbers gathered from a Windows Phone 7.5 app’s logs. Build numbers associated with Windows Phone 8/Apollo start at 8.0.9666, and build up to 8.0.9699. WP7Forum additionally reports that the major OS update should RTM by July 2012.

Nokia TV Finland

Nokia promised to bring the Nokia TV app to Finland when the Lumia 900 became available. News from last night indicate that the software release happened earlier than the hardware release.

The Nokia TV app is now available in many regions, but it only features Finnish TV channels. Do a quick Marketplace search to see if you’re able to download the Nokia TV app. Nokia will most probably pull the app from the worldwide store, and only make it available in Finland. Own localized versions should hit some markets later this year.

LG Optimus UI 3.0

LG today announce a new user interface which they call, quite unexpectedly, Optimus UI 3.0. Any idea why it’s called version 3.0, when there isn’t anything before that? Optimus UI 3.0 is the UI that will decorate LG’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and will be delivered together with the update to the new software version.

LG tries to do the same that HTC does with their Sense UI, and Samsung with their TouchWiz, i.e. customize the already great Android 4.0 experience. Their addition to the camera include a feature called Voice Shutter, which will take a picture or start filming at a predefined voice command like “Cheese”. Another handy feature is Quick Memo, which will let you scribble something on any screen with your finger. Quick Memo will come handy for those with dementia.

Hit View Post to see the press release.

LG’S NEW OPTIMUS UI 3.0 ADDS NEW FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS WHILE BEING UNOBTRUSIVE AND SIMPLE

New User Interface Makes the LG Smartphone Experience Faster, Simpler, More Convenient

SEOUL, May 16, 2012 – LG Electronics (LG) is introducing a new User Interface (UI) for its newest Android Ice Cream Sandwich devices, aptly named Optimus UI 3.0. Optimus UI 3.0 brings with it an array of enhanced key features, including Quick Memo™ and unique unlock functions, among other new features and functions aimed at improving LG smartphone experience.

“With smartphone hardware becoming more and more similar, it’s important for manufacturers to differentiate their products from the competition through the user interface,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “Both carriers and customers tell us that they want LG phones to look and feel unique and the UI plays a big part in that. LG is really going to push the boundaries of what is possible in user interfaces starting with Optimus UI 3.0.”

Optimus UI 3.0 is designed with convenience and speed in mind. A powerful memo function called Quick Memo™ enables users to jot notes on the screen using a finger. Quick Memo™ in Optimus UI 3.0 allows users to share their thoughts through social networks, text messages and e-mails more conveniently than ever before.

Other new features include:

•  the ability to unlock the phone by dragging anywhere on the screen;
• a new Pattern Lock that allows users to preset the most frequently used function, such as the camera, which automatically opens once the phone is unlocked;
• a simpler version of Optimus UI 3.0 for new smartphone users which organizes the main applications so that they are the easiest to access;
• a new Voice Shutter that allows users to capture photos using only voice commands;
• a special camera feature that enables users to pick up the best shot among multiple images including the moment just before the shutter button is depressed;
• an Icon Customizer that provides an additional level of personalization by allowing users to set their own photos as icons and shortcut images;
• the addition of a Download category to the menu for easier organization.

Optimus UI 3.0 will debut on the LG Optimus LTE II launching this week in Korea, followed by LG Optimus 4X HD in June.

HTC One X - white

HTC has just released their third minor firmware update to the international One X. The update is delivered as a simple OTA update that weighs 14MB. The exact software version after the update will be 1.29.401.11. The update will fix issues regarding USB storage. The WiFi bug that was found last week has not been fixed in this release.

HDBlog is most probably the first that have managed to do a complete video unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S III. Their video can be seen here above.

Earlier this week I got my hands on this device too, and I’ve written about my experiences of it here. Just little over a week until this is publicly available in Europe, so stay tuned!

I Love WP Foursquare badge

Here’a an alleged letter sent by a self claimed Apple fanboy to Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer. Apparently he’s so in love with his Windows Phone that he took the opportunity to let the big guy know about it.

Here’s the letter in question:

From: Scott G.
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2012 1:50 PM
To: Steve Ballmer
Subject: Apple fanboy loves his Windows phone
 
Mr. Ballmer,

Hopefully this will get to you. Your team deserves credit for producing an excellent product in the newest version of Windows Phone. Yes, I am writing from my MacBook Pro. And I have been a fairly loyal Apple customer over the years. However, I recently bought a Nokia Lumia 900 and intend on keeping it. For full disclosure, I was sure to make sure it could be returned after a dismal experience with an Android phone.

My reasons for switching are:

Call quality. I actually use my phone as a phone. That concept seems to get lost in many product reviews. One of my employees actually thanked me for getting rid of my iPhone as it was so much easier to hear me. I apologize for the tedium but it means a great deal to me and my business.

Simplicity. My family owns five vehicles, including two Fords with Sync. The 4S didn’t support all functions in any of them. My Nokia 900 was flawless out of the box. It was refreshing to have something that just worked. I cannot afford to have my primary means of communication be a science experiment.

No junk software. Speaking of science experiments, I also tried a Motorola Razr. Software that cannot be deleted and restarts itself? A company with questionable privacy rules. Software that terrified my poor in-laws? I guess if you like spending your day tinkering with your phone, it’s pretty cool. Maybe it beats playing with your Star Wars dolls?

Simplicity again. Everything after set up has been painless as well. Adding apps, setting up email accounts, etc. I thought the iPhone was good. Your set up was actually smoother and took less time. Same for Wi-Fi, in-car Bluetooth, etc.

Speed. The 900 doesn’t seem to lag the way the iPhone did at times. Everything seems to execute quickly. That I don’t think about it is probably the best compliment.

Live Tiles. It’s a minor thing but the Metro tiles are pretty cool. I just like the look.

Best regards,

Scott G.

Mozilla Firefox 14 beta for Android

It was just a few weeks ago when Firefox 13 beta was released for Android. Today, we get the Firefox 14 beta. Changes in this version include a redesigned user interface and start page, better touch support in the form of tweaked panning and zooming gestures, and support for Adobe Flash. The update can be installed on devices running Android 2.2 Froyo or higher, but tablets are so far left without an update. Mozilla stated that a tablet-ready version is on the way.

Fire up Google Play (former Android Market) to downloads the Mozilla Firefox 14 beta.

Android

Google’s earlier major Android releases have usually also seen a Nexus announcement. This has been a reference design by Google, and their Nexus smartphones have always been the first to receive firmware updates. The original Google developer phone, the HTC Nexus One, was released in 2012, followed by the Samsung Nexus S in 2010, and now the latest Samsung Galaxy Nexus in 2011. Rumors have it that also this year’s Nexus-device will be manufactured by Samsung.

Wall Street Journal reports today that Google’s next major Android version, version 5.0 or Jelly Bean as it’s called, will get up to five Nexus smrtphones and tablets this year. Google will sell these directly through their website. This move will probably shorten the time from announcement to availability, when carriers can’t require changes to the hardware.

Google is expected to announce Android 5.0 next month at their I/O conference.

Windows Phone Marketplace 90k

AllAboutWindowsPhone gathers information about Microsoft’s Windows Phone Marketplace. According to their logs, the Windows Phone Marketplace has now hit 90,000 apps worldwide. New content is being added at a rate of 250 apps a day. A total of 7,409 were added during the last month, and 24,371 during the last three months. At the rate the Marketplace is currently growing, we should see it hit the magical 100,000 milestone sometime in June.

HTC made the budget friendly Desire C official today. This will certainly be one of the most affordable Android smartphones that run Ice Cream Sandwich. So far the HTC Desire C is only announced for the United Kingdom, but other regions will hopefully follow later.

Specs include the following:

• Android 4.0 ICS with HTC Sense 4.0
• 3.5-inch HVGA screen
• 5-megapixel camera
• 25GB of free Dropbox could storage
• Beats Audio

The HTC Desire C should retail for around £169.99 off contract.

Samsung Galaxy S III Ceramic White

Today was a big day for me. I saw and played with the Samsung Galaxy S III for the first time. First of all, it’s way cooler that what I thought. Press renders just don’t do it justice. Even though the screen size is much bigger than on its predecessor, it didn’t feel or look that big. Samsung has just managed to remove a lot of the extra space outside of the screen. The phone also felt really good in your hand. I don’t think it was too big in any way.

Second, I think this was the best performing Android device I’ve tried. The HTC One X is also fast, but I’ve experienced some lags with graphical transitions in the software (Sense UI). It felt as the Galaxy S III couldn’t be put into a situation where it would lag. The device was able to play and display a video file while simultaneously using the phone normally. It’s like a picture-in-picture from the TV world, but with a phone.

Video-capabilities were also great. I was shown the WiFi streaming hub accessory, which seemed to be working more easily than for instance DLNA streaming. The picture on the HDMI-equipped FullHD 55-inch TV looked great. Installation was just simple plug-and-play action, and in mere seconds the movie was wirelessly playing on the TV. This accessory will make it much easier to connect your phone to a TV/projector. This accessory will apparently be exclusive to the Galaxy S III.

During the weekend I wrote that I had my doubts about the screen. Samsung chose to use an PenTile array of sub pixels instead of the inferior RGB array. A better explanation on this technology can be read from my earlier post here. To my eyes the screen looked gorgeous. Contrary to my belief, lines were really straight on the screen. I couldn’t see a fuzzy line. So apparently Samsung’s decision to opt for a PenTile display instead of a RGB display was good, since the lower amount of blue sub pixels will lead to a longer life expectancy for the screen itself.

The phone will hit Europe with force on May 29th. Here in Finland we should see the Samsung Galaxy S III retail for roughly 620€.

Hit View Post to see a few accessories for the Samsung Galaxy S III.

Nokia Lumia 900 Fuschia

Nokia Finland today confirmed that the Lumia 900 and Lumia 610 will hit Finland this month. The Nokia Lumia 610 will be the first one to arrive, with public availability already this week, on May 18th. Gigantti has currently this phone listed at 189 EUR with tax included and unsubsidized. The Nokia Lumia 900 again will go on sale on May 25th. The cheapest price currently is 538.90€ from Verkkokauppa.com.

Asus is trying to break the borders between a phone, tablet and laptop. The Asus PadFone is the first smartphone that can be “transformed” into a tablet, which again can be transformed into a laptop. The release of this promotional video would indicate that we should see Asus shipping the PadFone soon.

Asus PadFone runs Android 4.0 powered by a Snapdragon S4 SoC. The phone has a 4.3-inch screen with a qHD resolution. When connected to the tablet, the screen size grows to 10.1-inch with a resolution of 1280×800. Other features include 1GB of RAM, 16-64GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, 8-megapixel camera (F/2.2), 1.3-megapixel front facing camera on the tablet version and 0.3-megapixel on the phone itself.

The phone weighs 129 grams, while the tablet weighs 724 grams. A 1,520 mAh battery fits inside the phone, and with the tablet the capacity increases to 6,600 mAh.

Asus tells that the phone will cost 459 EUR, with the Tablet “accessory” costing an additional 159 EUR.

HTC Desire C

Information of the HTC Golf/Desire C/Wildfire C has leaked a few times during the past few weeks. This past weekend we got the most complete leak, with press renders and specs.

Specs for the HTC Desire C inlcude the following:

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 600 MHz CPU
• 3.5-inch display (320×480)
• 3.5G
• 4GB internal memory
• 5-megapixel camera
• A-GPS

It will be interseting to see how good Android 4.0 ICS will run on a 600MHz CPU. An expected retail price for the HTC Desire C is roughly 200 EUR. Do you think a device with this low specs is worthy of the Desire name?

LinkedIn for Windows Phone

Many have been waiting for LinkedIn to release their official Windows Phone app. This has finally happened, and the app can now be downloaded from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Windows Phone has integrated support for LinkedIn, but with this you could only post and read updates from your LinkedIn profile. For anything more complicated you can now use the official LinkedIn app.

Get on-the-go access to your professional network with LinkedIn for Windows Phone. Find and connect with more than 150M members worldwide, read the latest industry news, keep up-to-date with your groups, explore jobs you might be interested in, and share content with your network from anywhere.